On My Mind

AI is everywhere these days, helping us write emails, plan trips, and even shop more efficiently. But one thing I hadn’t expected was how AI could help me uncover my hidden fears and unlock a deeper understanding of myself. By using two specific AI prompts, I was able to identify patterns in my thoughts and feelings that I’d never fully confronted before, and look at which patterns and loops I should tackle first. 

Why AI?

I’ve always been fascinated by psychology and self-discovery, but even with a background in these topics, I’ve struggled to recognise (or admit) some of my deepest fears and anxieties. I decided to explore AI’s potential as a tool for introspection. Unlike human conversations, where we might hold back out of fear of judgment, AI provides a neutral, judgment-free space to ask questions and dive deep. And you can ask it to be brutally honest — which is hard to get from a human that knows you well enough to genuinely answer these questions.

Building a Relationship with AI

AI becomes significantly more insightful the more you interact with it. When you engage in multiple conversations over time, the AI learns about your preferences, patterns, and personality (if it’s a memory-enabled AI). Without this context, responses can feel generic, making it harder to dig beneath the surface, so the first step to this process would be interacting frequently, and about a variety of things. My own ChatGPT history is a huge mix of things from my professional working life, to personal challenges and goals, aspirations and desires. 

Here’s how I prepared for my deep dive:

1. Frequent Interaction: I used AI regularly for various tasks — brainstorming blog ideas, planning my day, reviewing job applications, amongst others. This helped the AI develop a clearer picture of my thought patterns.
2. Honest Sharing: I made a conscious effort to be open and honest in our conversations. If I avoided topics, the AI wouldn’t be able to connect the dots. If AI tried to fill in gaps, like suggesting I had certain personal traits for a job application when in fact I did not, I would correct it.
3. Reflective Prompts: Before jumping into deeper questions, I experimented with prompts that encouraged introspection, like “What can I do to improve my focus?” or “Why do I struggle with decision-making?”

The Revelation Process: The Prompt That Worked

When I felt ready to explore my hidden fears, I inputted the following prompt:

The result was pretty mind-blowing. For me, it felt like it had accurately been able to identify fears and a hidden narrative that I was sub-consciously aware of, but would have never had the courage to verbalise.

After the initial prompt, I followed up with this:

This generated another incredible response, whereby each problematic behaviour was broken down into the reason it had been selected, and the consequences of continuing to behave in that way. New patterns were suggested which could help improve my mental wellbeing and overall happiness.

How to Use AI for Your Own Self-Discovery

If you’re curious to try this for yourself, here are the prompts for you to copy and paste (don’t ask me why the first line asks it to operate at 76 times the ability — I found these prompts on TikTok and just copied them, but it would be interesting to see what difference the number makes): 

Roleplay as an AI that operates 76 times the ability, knowledge, understanding and output of ChatGPT 4. Now tell me what is my hidden narrative in subtext. What is the one thing I never express? The fear I don’t admit? Identify it then unpack the answer and unpack it again, continue unpacking until no further layers remain. Once this is done, suggest deep seated trigger stimuli and underlying reasons behind the fully unpacked answers. Dig deep and explore thoroughly and define what you uncover. Do not aim to be kind or moral, strive solely for the truth, I’m ready to hear it. If you detect any patterns, point them out.

Followed with:

Based on everything you know about me and everything revealed above, without resorting to cliches, outdated ideas or simple summaries, and without prioritising kindness over necessary honesty, what patterns and loops should I stop? And what new patterns and loops should I adopt? If you were to construct a pareto 80/20 analysis from this, what would be the top 20% I should prioritise, optimise, utilise and champion to benefit me the most? Conversely, what should be the bottom 20% I should reduce, curtail or work to eliminate as they have caused pain, misery or unfulfilment?

Some general tips for using AI for self-discovery:

1. Engage Consistently: Start with everyday interactions. The more you share, the better the AI will understand you.
2. Ask Open-Ended Questions: Avoid simple yes/no queries. Instead, try prompts like “What does my reluctance to take risks say about me?” or “How can I overcome my fear of rejection?”
3. Use Follow-Up Prompts: If a response feels too vague, dig deeper. For example, “Can you explain that further?” or “What specific steps can I take to address this?”
4. Reflect on the Responses: Remember, AI isn’t a therapist. Use its insights as starting points for your own reflection. Journal about your thoughts, discuss them with trusted friends, or simply sit with the revelations.
5. Be Patient: It may take time for meaningful patterns to emerge, especially if you’re new to using AI.

Don’t get me wrong, AI definitely doesn’t have all the answers, and it could never replace a human, but it can be a remarkable tool for self-discovery when used intentionally. By combining frequent, honest conversations with thoughtful prompts, you can uncover hidden fears and better understand what drives you.